Letters to the Editor: New Orleans watchdogs will improve quality of life

Four years after Katrina, our unique city is at a critical crossroads. We can choose a path that fuels fears and anxieties, or we can choose a path that builds on New Orleanians' greatest hopes and aspirations. Recent inflammatory rhetoric targeting the Office of the Inspector General is a case in point.

Yes, the office must quickly get its act together. But, can anyone genuinely question the need for an independent watchdog empowered and funded to root out corruption, waste and fraud, particularly considering our city government's long-established propensity for each? The independent police monitor position is also vital, as it protects citizens' rights and interests with the Police Department. Let's stop the harmful rhetoric and instead focus on the goals of, and potential benefits for, the citizenry.

Citizens aspire to an improved quality of life. Citizens expect that their hard-earned tax-paying dollars will be spent in a responsible and transparent manner by city government.
Frustration over the multitude of problems and slow response is deep and wide. In our rebuilding efforts, we have a great opportunity to identify national best practices in areas such as recreation and economic development, and to build multiracial models along the proven best practices.

Our citizens have done their part. They have worked tirelessly and successfully in their own rebuilding efforts and rebuilding their communities. We now yearn for city leadership to build bridges from and to every part of our community and to deliver services and capabilities with a sense of urgency and excellence modeled along best practices, openness and effectiveness. Let's stop the divisiveness and place all energies and resources into the effective delivery of badly needed services. We have waited long enough!

Gregory R. Rusovich
Chairman
Robert Brown
Managing Director
Business Council of New Orleans
New Orleans